Black Meetings and Tourism

COLORADO Colorado's Rocky Mountain scenery inspired the ode to "purple mountains' majesty" in "America the Beautiful." Aspen, the state's best-known mountain resort, also attracts hikers to the nearby Maroon Bells. Hiking is just one of the many popular outdoor activities in fitness-conscious Boulder, where you can also visit the Naropa University, America's only Buddhist University. Breckenridge, another ski resort, is the site of the Barney Ford House Museum, the home of an escaped slave who became the town's first Black businessman. In Colorado Springs, you can explore the red rock formations known as the Garden of the Gods in the foothills of Pikes Peak. Besides hit- ting the slopes, Keystone visitors can ride paddleboats and go ice skating on a man-made lake. Steamboat Springs draws visitors for both winter sports and summer events like the Strings in the Mountains Music Festival. Vail is home to the World Alpine Ski Championships and, for those who would rather stroll than slalom, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. DENVER Denver's Five Points Neighborhood, part of the Welton Street Historic District, was dubbed the "Harlem of the West," during the segregated 1940s and 1950s, a time when many great Black jazz artists — from Billie Holiday to Miles Davis — performed in area clubs and bars. The neighborhood is now home to the Stiles African American Heritage Center and the Blair- Caldwell African American Research Library, which houses a 7,000-sq. ft. gallery with exhibits on history, music, art and more. Also located in Five Points is the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center, in the former home of Dr. Justina Ford, the state's first Black woman physician. Here you'll find a variety of photographs, artifacts and interactive exhibits showcasing role of African-Americans in the settlement of the West. The Denver Art Museum's new Frederic C. Hamilton Building houses a major American Indian collection. Other local places to view art include the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, the Museum of Outdoor Art, the Museo de las Americas — which showcases contemporary Latin American artists — and the galleries and studios in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. Tours of the Budweiser Brewery, the MillerCoors Brewery, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Denver Zoo, Black Meetings & Tourism February/March 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 72 Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, the Pacific Asia Museum and Castle Green. Other points of interest include the Norton Simon Museum, the Pasadena Museum of History, the Pasadena Museum of California Art and the Armory Center for the Arts. The Pasadena Convention Center, which currently contains the 28,000-sq. ft. East Pavilion and the 3,000-seat Pasadena Civic Auditorium, is expected to complete a $150 million expansion in spring that will add more than 85,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 28 breakout rooms and a 25,000-sq. ft. ballroom. Accommodations are provided by more than 2,500 guestrooms citywide. Air travel is serviced by the Bob Hope/Burbank Airport, located 15 miles from Pasadena; Los Angeles International Airport, 28 miles away, Long Beach Airport 32 miles out, and Los Angeles/Ontario International Airport, a 37-mile drive. Once you arrive, the Pasadena ARTS (Area Rapid Transit System) can transport you to many top area attractions. SAN DIEGO California's second largest city claims bragging rights for the nation's largest urban cultural park. Balboa Park is home to the acclaimed San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park as well as 15 museums, many art galleries and the Tony Award-winning Globe Theatres. San Diego also boasts 70 miles of beaches and 92 golf courses, and if that's not enough to keep an outdoor lover occupied, there's also hiking, fishing and wildlife watching in the 600,000-acre Anza Borrega Desert State Park. The city's largest meeting facility is the San Diego Convention Center, which has 525,701 gross sq. ft. of con- tiguous ground-level space. San Diego Convention Center Photo Credit: San Diego CVB Colorado Convention Center Photo Credit: Denver CVB

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